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American Masters: Creative Spark

By: American Masters | PBS
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  • Summary

  • How do today’s masters create their art? American Masters: Creative Spark presents narrative interviews that go in-depth with an iconic artist about the creation of a single work. Each episode offers a unique window into the world of art and the creative process of artists and cultural icons across a wide range of disciplines, from music and comedy to poetry and film. Explore more at www.pbs.org/creativespark
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Episodes
  • Ling Ma on Imploding the Immigrant Narrative

    Ling Ma on Imploding the Immigrant Narrative
    Jun 15 2023
    Novelist Ling Ma doesn’t shy away from taking risks with her writing. Her 2018 debut novel, “Severance,” is an apocalyptic satire that won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction and squarely put her on the map as an exciting, off-beat new writer.  With her newest collection, “Bliss Montage,” Ma has turned her attention to the short story format. The collection is described as “eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home.” In this episode, Ling Ma breaks down her creative process and inspiration behind “Peking Duck,” a short story from the collection. She details how she attempted to complicate and “implode” the immigrant narrative through her unique approach to this mother-daughter story. After listening to the episode, you can read “Peking Duck” here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/peking-duck
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    28 mins
  • Rena Priest Explores the Beauty of Childhood on "Young and Indigenous"

    Rena Priest Explores the Beauty of Childhood on "Young and Indigenous"
    May 18 2023
    We think you’ll really enjoy this podcast from our friends over at Young and Indigenous, which amplifies indigenous knowledge, storytelling and history. In this episode of Young and Indigenous, Washington State Poet Laureate and award-winning author Rena Priest explores the beauty of childhood and the nurturing element of culture. Priest also recites some of her poems! Rena Priest encourages future writers, especially fellow Lummi Nation members, to take the creative leap. In her words, “the world needs your voice, needs your story. You never know who is going to encounter it and whose life [your story] is going to change.” Learn more about Young and Indigenous here: https://settingsunproductions.org/young-and-indigenous-podcast
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    39 mins
  • Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Ghosts that Haunt our Cultural Past (Replay)

    Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Ghosts that Haunt our Cultural Past (Replay)
    May 4 2023
    It’s been announced! Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” (2015) is now getting the prestige TV treatment on HBO’s newly rebranded Max streaming service. To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we revisit our interview with Nguyen. In it, he talks about not just “The Sympathizer,” but about growing up in the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam, and how writing and reading helped him cope with its many challenges. He breaks down how his work takes on issues of cultural representation in American pop culture and literature. “The Sympathizer” stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bebop”) as a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in L.A.’s refugee community. The miniseries adaptation is described as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.” The cast includes executive producer Robert Downey, Jr., Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Vy Le, Ky Duyen and Sandra Oh.
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    38 mins
Art History Social Sciences
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